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The spring college golf season began earlier this week when Jacksonville University hosted the SeaBest Invitational at the TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course. The University of North Florida, Florida and Florida State will follow suit Saturday and Sunday, all at the same place: the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, for the 36th Gator Invitational. Georgia opens its season Feb. 17-19 at the Puerto Rico Classic. UNF, UF, FSU and UGa will be contenders in their conferences and for NCAA regional berths — which all four earned in the 2012 spring season. This spring, Florida State will host a regional tournament at the Golden Eagle Country Club in Tallahassee. The Gators are ranked third in the pre-spring Golfstat poll and fifth in the Golfweek poll. Georgia is 10th and 11th, FSU 23rd and 31st and UNF 34th and 35th.

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA

Coach: Scott Schroeder (eighth season).

Team rankings: Golfstat 34th, Golfweek 35th.

Key players: Sean Dale, Sr.; Kevin Phelan, Sr.: M.J. Maguire, Soph.

Outlook: Dale, the 2012 Atlantic Sun player of the year, returns for his final season after missing the fall season to compete in the PGA Tour’s first- and second-stage qualifiers. Dale had nine top-10 finishes in 13 starts last spring and tied for second in both the A-Sun Tournament (won by the Ospreys) and the NCAA regional. Without Dale, Phelan and Maguire led UNF to two top-six finishes in four fall tournaments.

Outlook: Blackburn continues his uphill struggle to compete with UNF and Florida but new practice facilities and a young team (five of the 11 players on the roster are freshmen or sophomores) are promising signs for the future. Blackburn also isn’t shy: After hosting the SeaBest, JU plays in the Gator Invitational and UNF’s Hayt Invitational. The Dolphins finished sixth as a team in three of four fall tournaments.

Outlook: As usual, the Gators are in the national championship conversation with two players on the Ben Hogan Award watch list, Nease graduate McCumber and Vogel. McCumber tied for third in the SEC, for fifth in an NCAA regional and for second in the NCAA in 2012, coming one shot from the individual national championship. Vogel had nine top-10 finishes and two victories last spring. Vogel and McCumber combed for seven top-10 finishes.

Outlook: The Seminoles were a sudden-death playoff away from making the match-play finals in the NCAA Tournament last spring and bounced back with a second and a third in fall tournaments. Berger was a late-season sensation as a freshman last year, tying for seventh in the ACC Tournament, solo third in the NCAA regional and tying for 21st in the NCAA. Seiffert added two top-three finishes in the spring.

UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

Coach: Chris Haack (17th season).

Team rankings: Golfstat 10th, Golfweek 11th.

Key players: T.J. Mitchell, Sr., Keith Mitchell, Jr.; Lee McCoy, Fr.

Outlook: It was a bit of a pedestrian season for the Bulldogs last spring as they finished fourth in the SEC and went on to finish 17th in the NCAA. But if the fall season is any indication, the ’Dogs will be a threat anywhere they play as they finished first, second and eighth in four fall tournaments. Watch out for the freshman McCoy: He won eight of 11 Georgia high school events last season, was the Class 4A state individual champion and was voted player of the year.